The White Front Cars of San Francisco (Interurbans Special 44)

Authoritative and well-written history of the Market Street Railway of San Francisco, this is the revised 1978 edition (with extra diagrams). The MSR was the backbone of the city's mass transit system from 1921-1944, when it was purchased by the smaller but better funded Municipal Railway. The author traces the MSR's history from the days of the horse-drawn and steam cars through the cable and electrification era, providing numerous detailed maps that trace the system's growth as well as several charts showing financial information, mileage, kinds of cars, etc. There is a complete roster of all the electric passenger cars followed by photos of each class of cars with informative text and captions discussing their history and use. There are also chapters on service cars, the cable cars, the use of buses as supplements to the trolleys, track laying, power plants, maintenance of the overhead wire, the Elkton shops, and the car houses. Illustrated throughout with black and white photos from all eras. With 8 oversized foldout pages in the rear showing scale drawings of the rolling stock. Includes reproductions of timetables, transfers and tickets. Invaluable reference book for anyone interested in the MSR, San Francisco history, electric street railways or traction modelers. 482 pages.